From the rear side cover: The Oxford, Worcester & Wolverhampton Railway originated during the 'Railway Mania' years of the mid-1840s, when ambitious landowners and industrialists conceived the idea of a main line link between London and the West Midlands industrial areas. With Isambard Kingdom Brunel as its engineer, the OW&WR was seen as a close ally of the Great Western Railway, but in the event, the two companies became enmeshed in a bitter quarrel. When completed throughout to Oxford in 1853, the OW&WR worked in conjunction with the rival London & North Western Railway. However, relations with the parent Great Western Railway eventually improved and the 'Cotswold Line' became an archetypal GWR route. In recent years, the railway has prospered as a long-distance commuter route, with trains running through from Paddington to Hereford via Oxford, Worcester and Great Malvern.

The book will delight anyone with an interest in the railway history of this part of the country and beyond....